Welcome to Hyperion Records, an independent British classical label devoted to presenting high-quality recordings of music of all styles and from all periods from the twelfth century to the twenty-first.

Hyperion offers both CDs, and downloads in a number of formats. The site is also available in several languages.

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Advise me now, my lords,
you who have wisdom and sense:
a lady has granted me her love,
whom I have loved for a long time;
but now I know for certain
that she has another intimate friend,
and never have I had
a more unwelcome companion.

One thing worries me
and puts me in dilemma:
for my grief will be increased
if I accept this situation,
yet if I speak my mind to her
I see my loss doubled.
Whatever I do or do not do,
I can do nothing to my advantage.

And if I love her with dishonour,
I shall be scorned by everyone.
And most people will consider me
a cuckold and a craven.
Yet if I lose her friendship,
I consider myself disinherited
in love, and God forbid that
I should compose any more verses or songs.

Since I am in this perverse situation,
it would be perverse of me not to accept
the lesser of these two evils;
for it is better, I think,
to have half of her
than to lose her altogether through my perversity,
for I have never known any malicious lover
to benefit from love.

Since my lady wants another lover,
I do not forbid her;
and I refrain from doing so more from fear
than for any other reason;
and if ever a man should be thanked
for a thing he is forced to do,
I should certainly be rewarded
for forgiving so great a wrong.

Her fair treacherous eyes,
which looked on me so kindly –
if now they look elsewhere,
they are doing a great wrong;
yet they have honoured me to the extent
that, even if there were a thousand people present,
they look more in my direction
than at all those around.

With the tears which pour from my eyes
I write more than a hundred greetings,
which I send to the most noble
and comely of ladies.
I have often recalled
what she did when we parted:
I saw her cover her face,
for she could not bring herself to say yes or no.

Lady, love another in public
and me in private,
so that I have all the benefit
and he the reputation.
Now, Garcio, sing this song for me,
and take it to
my Messenger, who was here earlier,
for I want to know what advice he gives me.